One good act deserves two more

This little charmer is a whiskey jack, otherwise known as a gray jay. Friendly guy.

But my note today is about a black bear. I just don't have a great photo of one. So I was heading down to one of the beaches in town to walk my dogs tonight, when I noticed a three year old bear (or thereabouts: I am a geologist, not a bearologist). It was getting ready to tear into someone's camper that was parked there. As I drove up I honked my horn and circled the camper, chasing off the bear a short distance.

As I turned the van to leave the area, I noticed a man walking out of the bush, not 20 metres from where I last saw the bear. As both of them had the lake behind them and me to the land side, they were in close quarters. I warned the gentleman and told him that his camper had been as risk. He thanked me and I drove away, contemplating another spot for a doggie walk.

So, partway up the hill I stop and we set out for a hike around to another scenic lookout. There I found a van just pulling in. The man stretching his limbs asked me what that plant was, just across there, and I told him it was a pulp mill. It becames clear that he and two kids were on a camping trip. I told them about the bear, but surprisingly enough, they didn't head down there for a look. I helped them out with directions for the nearest provincial park and places for grub. Off they went for some groceries and ice.

And then the young lady with the bicycle acting up. I stopped to warn her too about the bear, as it seemed she was heading in that direction. The brakes on her borrowed bike were jamming. She was visiting from out of town. We had a look and got them loosened off enough that they wouldn't be an issue for the largely uphill ride she had back to where she was staying. She needed directions as well. Ready to haul her and the bike back to her point of origin, it turns out she figured out the brakes herself and off she went.

Let's keep it safe out there.